1958 Edsel Pacer convertible

A one-time flop turned collectible

Feature Article from Hemmings Motor News

Despite its colossal failure in the marketplace when new, the Edsel has a strong following, and those loyal to the brand best known for the "horse collar" grille say they are among the greatest cars ever. The Edsel's popularity has driven prices up in recent years, and there seems to be no downward spiral.
Edsel owners love their cars, and while prices for these 1950s icons will likely never reach six figures, they should continue to slowly appreciate in the future. The owner of our feature car, Gary F. Weber of Tujunga, California, had this to say:
"Besides being a great drive, it really stands out and attracts attention; it's not another '57 Chevy. Even though I love Edsels, I might not restore another one, but I would buy another. If I was driving a 1958 Ford down the street, it's just another car. With an Edsel, people pay attention. There is an old saying, "You can tell an Edsel from two blocks away."
Weber's pride and joy, a 1958 Edsel Pacer Convertible, was built August 20, 1957, in Louisville, and is powered by a 303hp, 361-cu.in. FE-series V-8. He bought this car in 1995, and took his time restoring it to like-new condition. Weber, however, uses his car, and says he and his wife drive to Las Vegas from time-to-time.
Much has been written about the Edsel's failure, but little about the car itself. It was the subject of more hype than any product in Ford's history. By early 1956, Henry Ford II was setting the foundation for the Edsel. He had ordered a new car line started from scratch in the medium price range. With much fanfare, Ford introduced the Edsel on September 4, 1957. At little more than two years later, it proved a colossal $250 million blunder.
The car, except for the infamous grille and the Teletouch transmission selector, was essentially a stretched version of Mercury's chassis and sheetmetal components. Ford officials did not want it to look radical, just enough to shock people. They succeeded. The horse-collar grille--its official name was the "impact ring"--gave the Edsel a look like no other to date. As a result, the car was not accepted by the public.
In January 1957, Edsel General Manager Richard E. Krafve said, "The new Edsel line of cars WILL surpass the originally announced first-year sales goal of 200,000 units." When the bleeding was over, just 118,000 were sold before Henry finally pulled the plug on November 19, 1959.
Despite being one of the most well known failures in automotive history, Edsels have remained popular with many folks. And because of that popularity, prices have never really dropped on these cars. In a recent Hemmings Motor News, we found eight Edsels for sale, with asking prices ranging from $650 for a 1958 Ranger two-door sedan to $39,500 for a 1958 convertible.
Discuss this article in our forums

This article originally appeared in the April, 2007 issue of Hemmings Motor News.